Animal diversity
With representatives from more than 20 different animal groups, the "Invertebrates" section is extremely diverse. The spectrum ranges from sponges to cnidarians, various groups of worms to echinoderms and tunicates. Many, but not all, come from the sea.
Unknown worms
Research is currently focussing on two groups of worms in particular, the stringworms and the priap worms. Both are species-poor groups (stringworms around 360 species, priap worms 22 species) for which there are extremely few specialists worldwide. There is so much to discover! This applies to both the body structure and the number of species. Microscopic and electron microscopic analyses repeatedly reveal features that were previously inadequate or completely unknown. New species are also constantly being discovered.
Related collections
Contact person
- Head of Invertebrates Department, Head of Invertebrates Section
Phone: +49 40 238317 638
E-Mail: a.schmidt-rhaesa@leibniz-lib.de
Impressions
Projects
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Evolution of the Priapulida
Management: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa
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Genomics on stringworms
Management: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa
Publications
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2025/3
The big, the small and the weird: A phylogenomic analysis of extant Priapulida
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 204
2024/12
Towards a better understanding of deep-sea tardigrade biogeography: numerous new records from the Southern Ocean
Zootaxa, 1, 5543
2024/12
Little neighbours in Hamburg: free-living aquatic flatworms (Platyhelminthes)
Evolutionary Systematics, 2, 8
2024/11
David versus Goliath: An interspecific comparison between small-sized Halicryptus spinulosus and large-sized Halicryptus higginsi (Priapulida)
Zoologischer Anzeiger, 313
2024/9
New morphological structures of Priapulus caudatus, Lamarck 1816 (Priapulida) and analysis of homologous characters across macroscopic priapulids
Zoologischer Anzeiger, 312
2024/9
Review of the Priapulida of New Zealand with the description of a new species
New Zealand Journal of Zoology
2024/6
Horsehair worms (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) of southern Ireland rivers and streams
Irish Naturalists' Journal/Irish naturalists' journal, 40
2023/1
Morphology of larval and postlarval stages of Priapulopsis bicaudatus (Danielssen, 1869) (Priapulida) from the north atlantic ocean
Zoologischer Anzeiger, 302
2025
2024
2023
Employees
Jan Raeker
ztm Invertebrates Doctoral candidatePhone: +49 40 238317 646
E-mail: j.raeker@leibniz-lib.de
Prof. Dr. Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa
ztm Invertebrates Hamburg ScientistPhone: +49 40 238317 638
E-mail: a.schmidt-rhaesa@leibniz-lib.de